Gies Professional Pathway

Students will gain the ability to articulate strengths, weaknesses, values, interests, and identity. They will bring clarity to decision-making and learn how to explain skills and expertise to others. Sample behaviors:

• Show an awareness of strengths and areas for development.
• Identify areas for continual growth. Pursue and apply feedback. 
• Display curiosity. Seek out opportunities to learn.
  

Students will proactively develop a career through professional development learning. They discover how to navigate career opportunities and network to build relationships with classmates, faculty, and potential employers. Sample behaviors:

• Develop plans and goals for a future career. 
• Professionally advocate for themselves and others. 
• Assume duties or positions that help them progress professionally. 
• Establish, maintain, and leverage relationships with people who can help professionally. 
• Seek and embrace development opportunities.
• Voluntarily participate in further education, training, or other events to support their career.

Students will consciously and proactively identify their values. They will learn to make ethical decisions and practice professionally responsible decision-making. Sample behaviors:

• Explore and identify personal and professional values and how they align with potential employers, so they find a good fit. 
• Recognize and understand ethical dilemmas in personal, professional, and organizational situations. 
• Balance competing interests of stakeholders when making decisions. Persuasively communicate the decisions. 
• Practice professionally responsible, ethical decision-making.

Students will clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives within a company and outside an organization. Sample behaviors:

• Understand the importance of and demonstrate verbal, written, and nonverbal abilities. 
• Use active listening, persuasion, and influencing skills. 
• Communicate in a clear and organized manner so that others can easily understand ideas. 
• Frame communication with respect to diversity of learning styles, individual abilities, and cultural differences. 
• Ask appropriate questions for specific information from supervisors, specialists, and others. 
• Promptly inform team members and supervisors when they need guidance with an assignment.

Students will build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals. Appreciate diverse viewpoints and recognize shared responsibilities. Sample behaviors:

• Listen carefully to others, taking time to understand and ask appropriate questions without interrupting. 
• Effectively manage conflict. Interact with and respect diverse personalities. Meet ambiguity with resilience. 
• Be accountable for individual and team responsibilities and deliverables. 
• Use personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others.
• Be agile. Exercise the ability to compromise. 
• Collaborate with others to achieve common goals. 
• Build strong, positive working relationships with supervisors and coworkers.
• Maintain a positive personal brand that aligns their employer and personal career values.
  

Students will demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills that equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. They will engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism. Sample behaviors:

• Solicit and use feedback from multiple cultural perspectives to make inclusive and equity-minded decisions. 
• Actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change. 
• Advocate for inclusion, equitable practices, justice, and empowerment for historically marginalized communities. 
• Seek global cross-cultural interactions and experiences that lead to personal growth. Enhance the understanding of people from different demographic groups. 
• Keep an open mind to diverse ideas and new ways of thinking. 
• Identify resources and eliminate barriers resulting from individual and systemic racism, inequities, and biases. 
• Demonstrate flexibility by adapting to diverse environments. 
• Address systems of privilege that limit opportunities for members of historically marginalized communities.

Students will recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals. Sample behaviors:

• Inspire, persuade, and motivate themselves and others under a shared vision. 
• Seek out and leverage diverse resources and feedback to inform a project’s direction. 
• Think innovatively – go beyond traditional methods. 
• Be a role model to others by approaching tasks with confidence and a positive attitude. 
• Motivate and inspire others. Encourage others and build mutual trust. 
• Plan, initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate projects.

Students will identify and respond efficiently to the needs of others. They will understand the situational context and logically analyze relevant information. Sample behaviors:

• Make decisions using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment. 
• Proactively anticipate needs and prioritize action steps. 
• Accurately summarize and interpret data. Be aware of personal biases that may impact outcomes. 
• Effectively communicate actions and the rationale behind them. Recognize diverse perspectives and stakeholder experiences.

Students will understand and ethically leverage technologies that enhance efficiency, complete tasks, and accomplish goals. Sample behaviors:

• Navigate change and be open to learning new technologies. 
• Use technology to improve efficiency and productivity. 
• Identify the appropriate technology for completing specific tasks. 
• Manage technology to integrate information. Use it to support relevant, effective, and timely decision-making. 
• Quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies. 
• Use technology to analyze information, construct ideas, and achieve strategic goals.

Students will find solutions to difficult or unexpected situations. They will resolve complex business challenges. Sample behaviors:

• Use an effective framework to define a problem, plan a process, gather information, consider alternatives, and evaluate solutions. 
• Apply sound, inclusive reasoning, judgment, and integrity. 
• To fully understand a problem, include information from a diverse set of sources and people. 
• Implement a solution and assess its effectiveness.